While many organizations fall down trying to translate their strategy into action, almost as many don’t have a strategy to begin with. They think they do, but what they have are lots of plans and ideas for activity.

Don’t feel bad if you aren’t sure. You aren’t alone.

At the simplest level, the strategy is what and the plans are how. What you want to be vs. how you will get there and how you will deliver the goods until you get there. Defining your future, determining your approach, positioning yourself for success vs. determining who needs to do what and when in order to get there. (more…)

Class is over and employees are energized. They rush back to their offices where a screen full of email, a stream of voicemails, and piles of work quickly suck them back into the world of old habits – business as usual. Where is the hope? How can they possibly digest what they have learned, figure out how to apply it, and then find the opportunity to practice it?

Just Google “Making training stick,” or something similar, and you will find a multitude of long articles that leave the Googler, likely the supervisor, in the same boat as the trainee. No, worse off than the trainee – not even energized and definitely wishing for an escape such as “class dismissed.” (more…)

Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus, and that’s only the beginning! Lots of people have written about the gender gap in communication, but gender is not the only factor that makes communication difficult.

Picture this: You are talking to somebody. The other person is nodding. You think, “Good, this person agrees with me,” and you feel encouraged to continue talking. Which you gladly proceed to do.

Now picture this: You are listening to somebody. You are nodding and thinking, “Yes, yes, OK, hurry up and finish because I want to talk!”

Or perhaps you have heard this one before, “I thought you meant …”. (more…)

Readers tell me they are so caught up in daily details that they don’t have time to step back and figure out where they are. They feel scattered, overwhelmed, and tired of running in high gear. Here is a quick method for reconsidering WHAT goes on your To-Do list, followed by 3 tips for getting things OFF the list.

TO QUICKLY REGROUP:

Make a list of everything that is BOTHERING you. Big things and little things. Don’t think much, just write quickly.

Spend a little time with this mix of worries, plans, problems, and objectives. What is this list really telling you?

Do you see things that are getting in the way of doing what you think you are supposed to be doing?

Do you see things that are closely related, or problems that are the root cause of other problems?

Do you see things that really aren’t your concern?

Do you see things that worry you but that you either can’t fix or don’t really need to fix?

With a little practice, the insights from this mix of items will help you quickly rethink the content of your To-Do list. (more…)

Consistency is a good thing. Consistency can make it easier to work together, reduce confusion and misunderstandings, increase the likelihood that information and data are accurate and useful, make it easier to find things, and generally increase the chances that something will be done reliably and accurately. Without a fair amount of consistency, life would be chaotic and results unpredictable.

But, consistency can also waste a lot of time and money. Doing something because it has always been done that way or because other things like it are done that way can lead to waste. Consistency for the sake of consistency adds no value! (more…)

Missed another deadline? Scrapped another part? Scrambling to do rework? Why is it so hard to get reliable, repeatable results from what seem to be straight-forward requirements and well-defined processes?

There are 5 keys to getting results and the trick is to find a cost effective balance among these five. Unfortunately there is no magic wand to tell you how to find the right mix, but if you evaluate your processes relative to these five, you will likely discover ways to increase the stability of your processes. (more…)

Leaders Rave About Ann:

I’ve done a lot of strategic planning, board retreats, and other facilitated activities, and I’ve never worked with anyone else who comes close to bringing the same value to the table as Ann Latham does.

I would readily recommend Ann. She is extremely effective in leading a group in strategy and problem solving. She is also flexible and easy to work with. I found this to be true during our planning and our two days together as a group.

Leaders Rave About Ann:

I’ve done a lot of strategic planning, board retreats, and other facilitated activities, and I’ve never worked with anyone else who comes close to bringing the same value to the table as Ann Latham does.